An excellent ball by Tommy Mooney set Kevin Betsy racing away on the right only for his low delivery to be cleared ahead of Troy Deeney.
The next raid saw Lee Holmes' powerful strike blocked in front of goal as the visitors got men back behind the ball.
The Cherries got their noses in front with their first effort on goal as Danny Hollands' effort somehow found its way beyond Clayton Ince as he got in between the Walsall back-line.
The Saddlers were failing to get a hold of proceedings on a windy afternoon. A curling effort from the edge of the area by Mooney was easy for David Forde to gather after some neat build-up play.
At the other end, Jo Kuffour drilled a low drive wide from distance on 24 minutes.
Mooney linked up well with Betsy who in turn teed up Holmes for a shot that was straight at the 'keeper.
The Saddlers were forced into a change when Deeney limped off to be replaced by Alassane N'Dour and he soon made an impact by threading a fine through ball to Betsy who beat the offisde trap before rounding the 'keeper and slotting home.
The joy was short-lived as within a minute, Kuffour was alert inside the area to fire past the exposed Ince to put The Cherries back in front.
As half-time appriached, Kuffour was denied by a good recovery challenge from Anthony Gerrard and then Brett Pitman saw an effort land just wide after receiving a pass from the lively Kuffour.
A marauding run by Richard Taundry in injury time at the end of the first half ended with him winning a free-kick in a good position that was delivered invitingly to the far post by Richard Money's men failed to capitalise in went in at the break trailing.
The second period started with Ince saving at the second attempt from Pitman as both sides looked to grab hold of the game by the scruff of the neck.
Alex Nicholls replaced Mark Bradley on 54 minutes just before there were loud appeals for a penalty from the visitors when Sam Vokes got the better of Manny Smith only to be felled by Ince. The referee was quick to wave away the protests on this occasion but four minutes later he did point to the spot.
It was Pitman who stepped up and although his strike wasn't clean, it managed to find it's way past Ince to make it 3-1.
The ever-willing Holmes did well to set himself up for a shooting chance, which was saved by Forde. Then a deep cross by Betsy from the right caused problems for the 'keeper who was helped out by his defence as he floundered.
The game was petering out, just like Walsall's play-off hopes. An 88th minute foul on Holmes by Lee Bradbury earned the former Saddlers' loanee a yellow card as the resulting free-kick was headed half-clear. When the ball eventually arrived back into the danger zone, Mooney's effort failed to trouble Forde.
There was time for a last-minute booking for Gerrard for dissent to end a disappointing afternoon at the Banks's Stadium.
PHOTOS: David Linney Photography
